_Canada: January 2008 Archives

From time to time Hotel Central editor Susan O'Keefe likes to check in with industry folks—from GMs to chefs and housekeeping staff—for a behind-the-scenes chat. She begins with a talk with Patrick O'Connell, proprietor and chef of the acclaimed Inn at Little Washington, an elegant English country hideaway in Rappahannock County, Virginia, tucked in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains about two hours from Washington, D.C.

At the end of this month (Jan. 28), the Inn will celebrate its 30th anniversary. A gala dinner will be held on April 9 in Washington, D.C. that will benefit YouthAIDS. Foodies can snag one of the 500 tickets at $575 per person (includes wine and gratuity). Guests dining at the Inn's five-star restaurant from now until February 8 (except for Tuesdays and Saturdays) will receive a gratis glass of Dom Perignon champagne and a $30 gift certificate compliments of Patrick and his staff.

Happy Anniversary Patrick. After 30 years and receiving nearly every award ever bestowed on a restaurant and inn, where do you go from here?

We just keep going and continue doing what we're passionate about. We're becoming a self-sufficient farmstead with the recent addition of our own agricultural area that includes an orchard of Montmorency cherries—a small but full-of-flavor cherry that will be used in our jellies and clafouti dessert in the restaurant. We're raising a colony of bees for pollination and for creating our own honey, we'll introduce sheep and llamas that will graze in a meadow. We've developed a network of local farmers who custom-grow vegetables that aren't the size of my leg—small zucchini and eggplant that are flavorful. Pathways to this area will link to the inn and cottages and allow guests to walk to the orchards, see what's growing in the herb and vegetable gardens—all featured in our dishes daily.

You added your kitchen ten years ago and designed it to look like the dairy room of Windsor Castle. Anything new being added to the Inn?

This past summer we added the Claiborne House—named for my good friend Craig Claiborne who was the food editor of the New York Times—a fabulous two-bedroom hideaway with its own dining room, a library filled with Craig's cookbooks, living room, media room, and formal garden created by Dutch landscape designer Guy Williams. Craig celebrated his birthday in this house. We also have added the Gamekeeper's Cottage, a two-story retreat that is a departure from the opulent interiors of the Inn, and features a decor that I call "elegant rusticity." It has limestone floors, a stone fireplace, a large soaking tub, and an outdoor dining pavilion with pastoral views.  Every detail looks as if it's been there forever. It will allow guests to have a closer connection to nature.

What are some of the signature elements of the Inn that a guest can expect during their visit?

The Inn offers a sense of place, but also a sense of personality. We gauge every guest's mood from the moment they set foot in the door, and make it our mission to make them happy and have their experience be life-changing. There are fresh flowers everywhere, our Dalmatian greets guests wearing a strand of pearls (appropriate since 30-year anniversaries are celebrated with pearls), tea is served daily in the library, breakfast can be brought to your room, if you prefer.

We've already got plenty of reasons to like Natural Habitat Adventures, a tour outfitter whose work to offset all of their carbon emissions has made them, according to their claim, the "world's first carbon neutral travel company." But we were struck by the amount of effort they put into their mission, even during the off season.

During October and November, the group runs polar bear expeditions to Churchill, Manitoba, a.k.a. the "Polar Bear Capital of the World." It got its moniker because each year, the bears gather on the ice while the tundra freezes, waiting until they can cross over Hudson Bay. Thousands of travelers visit Manitoba every year, so NHA started looking to extend their green habits to the hotels and other facilities they use in the area. They first decided to donate CFL lightbulbs to the properties to help them cut down on their energy costs. But the idea snowballed, so to speak, and after creating a partnership with Gaiam, a company that produces the bulbs, NHA created a "Bulbs for Bears" program for the entire city. They're now working with the mayor to distribute over 3,000 lightbulbs to homes and businesses throughout Churchill. They're also planning to provide the city with a bulb crusher, to ensure that when the bulbs do run out (they last an average of eight to fifteen times longer than regular bulbs) they won't pollute landfills with harmful chemicals.

"We've always been very involved in different initiatives that concern climate change," said Matt Kareus, spokesperson for NHA. "Since a third of our travelers visit Churchill, we wanted there to be a way to educate [them] and do something that was directly related."

Kareus also informed us that Churchill is one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights each spring. So we can't help but think it's appropriate that they get recognition not only for their natural lighting, but their interior lighting as well.

Read More: Natural Habitat Adventures has cropped up on our Tours of a Lifetime list. Learn about other ways to conserve energy while traveling here.

Photo: © Steve Morello

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